Dongrim North Korea

Dongrim was only opened to tourism in October 2014. However, because
of the Ebola travel restriction that took place from the end of October
2014 to March 2015 we have only just explored this town located 48 km
south of Sinuiju in North Pyongan Province
and are proud to announce that we offer tours here as an extension of
any of our DPRK tours. Please note though that US citizens cannot
access this area as you need to leave Pyongyang by train in order to do
so.

The drive here from Sinuiju takes around 1 and a half hours. After
driving through villages and near farm fields that hardly ever
encounter any foreigners we approach a newly built luxurious hotel
located in a lush area of the country, Dongrim.

Dongrim is well known for its waterfalls; Dongrim Waterfall Number
One and Dongrim Waterfall Number 2. A one hour hike by the stream and
lush surroundings takes us to the smallest waterfall (Waterfall Number
1).

Sinamri Cooperative Farm

After a rest in Dongrim we head to one of the major rice suppliers
in North Korea; Sinamri Cooperative Farm. This farm has acres of fields
that can be seen spreading to the horizon from the farm’s main
pavilion. Unlike other farms we visit in DPRK such as when we approach Nampo or
Hamhung,
this farm is not yet used to received travellers.

Dongrim Hotel

The hotel offers a series of luxurious facilities that are perfect
after a long trip around North Korea and as a relaxing area just before
ending your DPRK adventure.

Rooms

There are 63 rooms (1 first class room, 2 second class rooms and 60
standard rooms). Please note that the standard rooms are of high
standard too.

Rooms are all new and have plasma TV screens.

Coffee shops & Diners

As you enter the hotel there is a cafe bar right behind the lobby.
Coffee and imported chocolate and liquor is served here.

The main dining room is on the right hand side of the lobby. There is
usually a performance in the evening which we can enjoy while having
dinner. Because most of the people that go to Dongrim are either
Chinese citizens who were born and raised in the DPRK or Chinese
travellers, many of the songs are about the long-lasting friendship of
the two countries and some are even sung in Chinese.

Interesting: there is a fountain in front of the hotel’s main
entrance. You can pick out a fish from the fountain and ask for it to
be cooked for dinner.

Meat skewers - you can enjoy these outside of the hotel, on the left
hand side of the entrance.

Leisure Facilities

On the left hand side of the the lobby there is a pong-pong
entertainment area and a billiard room. These tend to get quite busy in
the evenings with Koreans and Chinese therefore offering us a great
chance to mingle with people living and doing business in North Korea.

Right by the table-tennis area you can see the swimming pool. The water
here is heated at 27 to 29 celsius. This part of the hotel offers too
two saunas (dry steam and wet steam) and a pressurised shower where you
can lay on.

There are also massages facilities and a beauty salon where you can
have a haircut and of course Karaoke rooms.

Staff

The staff in the hotel is extremely friendly. They all speak Chinese
fluently and some staff members speak English (as for example in the swimming pool and table tennis areas).